1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer software and, more particularly, to the use of visual markers within browsers for identifying links enabled for activation through voice input.
2. Description of the Related Art
On the Internet, links contained within a Web page to other Web pages are marked by an underline and/or a different distinctive color, typically blue. The blue underlining places a user on notice that the text is a link, which can be selected. A user familiar with this visual marker for a link can assume that a Web browser will jump to a linked Web page whenever the user selects (clicks) the link.
Many Web pages are being enabled for speech technologies so that browser users can speak a reference to a link to access the linked Web page in place of or in addition to the conventional option of permitting a user to click upon the link with a mouse or other such device. Speech processing technologies for linking to referenced sites via voice commands are generally implemented on a Web site by Web site basis if not a Web page by Web page basis. Accordingly, some Web sites provide a capability to reference links by voice commands, while others do not. Links enabled for receiving voice commands can be referred to as speech enabled links.
Conventionally, the speech enablement of links occurs by overloading the visual indicator of the link to include voice command as well as click command enablement. This overloading of the links poses an ambiguity to a user since the user does not know if a link can be enabled through voice commands in addition to clicked commands. Accordingly, a user navigating from one Web page to another (as well as from one Web site to another) does not know when links can be activated by voice commands and when this functionality is unavailable. The user presently attempts to issue one or more voice commands to activate a link, and if the voice command repetitively fails, the user will click on the link to activate it instead. The ambiguity relating to whether links are enabled for voice commands or not leads to user confusion and frustration, often causing enabled speech technologies included within browsers to be under utilized. Until the day arrives when all Web links or hyperlinks within Web pages are automatically speech enabled, users will be confused as to which Web link can be voice activated and which cannot.